The story focuses on the Magrath sisters – Meg (Jessica Lange), Babe (Sissy Spacek), and Lenny (Diane Keaton) – who reunite at the family home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband, Zackery (Beeson Carroll). The three were raised by Old Granddaddy after their mother hung herself and the family cat and have been eccentric ever since. They all seem to have something to complain about.
Lenny is a wallflower who bemoans her shriveled ovary. Egocentric Meg is a singer whose Hollywood career ended abruptly when she suffered a nervous breakdown. Unruly and impulsive Babe shocks her sisters with stories about her affair with a teenaged black boy.
Past resentments bubble to the surface as the women are forced to deal with assorted relatives and previous relationships while coping with the latest incident that has disrupted their dysfunctional lives.
Director: Bruce Beresford
Year of Release: 1986
Character to watch: Jessica Lange as Margaret Magrath.
Journal your answers to the following questions after you watch the movie.
- How does this particular character’s journey compare with yours?
- Did the character develop certain characteristics during the movie that you have or that you would like to have? If so, what are those characteristics?
- What obstacles did this character face? What was his or her biggest challenge?
- What would you have done differently if you had been in the same position as the character?
- Is this character the type of person you would be friends with? Why or why not?